CAIRO (al-Qahira)

Cairo is the capital of Egypt and the largest city in the Arab world. Nicknamed “The city of a thousand minarets” for its Islamic architecture is also considered the main entrance door to Orient.

Travelling there, for those, who have never gone outside Occident, is a hard impression. I still remember when I arrived there for spending my Easter vacations many, many years ago. The first contrast: the high, extremely high temperature!!! I did really have the feeling I’d come back to the past but in a totally different world.

Located in northern Egypt, Cairo extends along the Nile River, source of great richness since Faraonic times. There is a mixture of different places to visit: The Egyptian Museum, Cairo Tower (modern),the Great Sphinx, the Great Pyramids of Giza, while inside them it seems time has suddenly stopped, Coptic Cairo (the heart of Egypt’s Coptic Christian community), Babylon fortress, the Greek church of St. George, the Citadel….

Under no circumstances are you to leave from Cairo without visiting the famous souk Khan el-Khalili, a largely shopping area unchanged since the 14th century. You can there buy almost whatever you want, particularly good are spices, perfumes, leatherwork, carpets, gold, silver, ceramic, fabric (in special egytian cotton) but you rarely can pay with credit card! Walking around Khan el-Khalili one can appreciate how grubby and clogged is the environment, but it’s part of it’s charm. In a few words a fascinating trip, a shopper’s paradise!!!

For sure in a near future I’ll come

back to Cairo to enjoy its mosaic of art, people and so on…

Consuelo de las Peñas Sanchez